Customer demand for residential WLAN/WiFi conversational services that require physical location identification is growing. A classic example of this type of service is a voice service that includes the possibility of performing emergency calls where the location of the device performing the call can be identified. This is normally required by regulations in markets where the voice service is connected to the General Switched Telephone Network (GSTN).
At the moment, the WLAN Access Points (APs) in most residential homes are typically owned and managed by the person(s) living there and are called “unmanaged” APs. A communication network is needed to provide conversational services that use these APs. As the APs are unmanaged, the communication network does not know about the physical location of these APs. There are, however, alternative ways for retrieving this information from external sources. A case in point might involve a user using WLAN access point to connect, via an access point and the Internet, to an IMS-based communication network. In order to provide voice call services that meet with regulatory requirements, the IMS network would like to know the actual physical address of the user's device so that that address can be associated with call sessions involving the user.
Broadband (BB) access providers have the physical location of their clients. If the communication network and the BB access provider connecting the AP are related, i.e.: are under the control of the same operator, the communication network can obtain the physical location of the APs. Alternatively, if WLAN-capable communication devices are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS), these devices can provide their physical locations to the communication network. However, the geographical accuracy of standard GPS systems is around 8 meters. Therefore, in a densely populated urban environment, the GPS can identify an incorrect neighboring physical location. This mistake could also happen if the communication device provides its location using internet services such as Google™ maps. Moreover, these services rely on the availability of internet, cannot be controlled by the device's user, and use standard GPS data to provide locations. Finally, the communication device could provide its location using a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cell ID. However, this method cannot be relied upon since 3GPP radio coverage can be unreliable.
As described above, there are many drawbacks and complexities with current mechanisms for obtaining a user device's physical location.